What is the difference between a SAT phone and a Cell Phone?

money....everyone can afford a cell phone nowadays but a sat phone is still kinda pricey... Space borne SATellite technology or land based CELLular tower technology. Sattelite phones work off of satellites and can be used anywhere with direct line of sight. Cell phones use a different set of frequencies and work for shorter differences (with land based antennas). A satellite telephone, satellite phone, or satphone is a mobile phone that communicates directly with orbiting communications satellites. Depending on the architecture of a particular system, coverage may include the entire Earth, or only specific regions.

Satellite phone (Inmarsat)The mobile equipment, also known as a terminal or earth station, varies widely. A satellite phone handset has a size and weight comparable to that of a late 1980s or early 1990s mobile phone, but with a large retractable antenna. These are popular on expeditions into remote areas where terrestrial cellular service is unavailable.

A fixed installation, such as used shipboard, may include large, rugged, rack-mounted electronics, and a steerable microwave antenna on the mast that automatically tracks the overhead satellites.

mobile or cell(ular) (tele)phone is a long-range, portable electronic device for personal telecommunications over long distances.

Most current mobile phones connect to a cellular network of base stations (cell sites), which is in turn interconnected to the public switched telephone network (PSTN SAT might get you better reception even if your over the horizon and is strong in most areas. This is a satelite. Cell has towers every where but might not give reception if out of range or over the horizon. Sometimes phone companies have one or the other or both.

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